Spring Fever

  My wife and I are prepping our house for sale. We live about 15 miles south of town in the upper Hood River Valley. Our home is tucked into a remote corner of the county. Private timber company land and a Forest Service seed orchard adjoin us to the west and south.  Deer, elk, [...]

First Connection

Recently, at twilight, a deer appeared in my driveway. Silent as the emerging darkness, she stepped carefully onto the gravel. Behind her, a creamy froth of clouds smeared the horizon; crickets chirruped in celebration of the declining day. I watched as the doe slipped into the tall field grasses. After several minutes, I walked out [...]

On the Road

I’ve been traveling. Recently, my wife and I attended the graduation of our niece from Whitman College in Washington. Tillie, the daughter of my wife’s sister, received a degree in Theatre with a minor in Spanish. She landed a much sought after two-year position at the college admission office, which will provide her income and [...]

Trees

Trees “Keep a green tree in your heart and a singing bird will come.” Chinese Proverb In November, the deciduous trees on our property cover the lawn with a radiant multi-colored blanket of leaves. Each fall, I spend several hours raking them into piles. Then, I haul them to my flowerbeds where they act as [...]

When I’m Sixty-Four

I could be handy, mending a fuse When your lights are gone. You can knit a sweater by the fireside, Sunday mornings go for a ride. Doing the garden, digging the weeds, Who could ask for more? Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I’m sixty-four? The Beatles-1967 As a fall [...]

Everyday

Everyday, I think about having cancer and everyday I forget that I have cancer. Reminders of my illness abound. It does not take much to make me hesitate and ponder the calculus of my future. For example, because we live in a remote area, I often shop on the web. Just last week, I procrastinated [...]

It’s Complicated

My iris blooms arrived in May and departed in June. Most of the lavender flowers shriveled unattractively on their stalks and I cut them off. Yesterday, I dug a colony of these bulbs from my perennial beds. I shook off the dirt, storing them in a paper bag. I’ve four more clumps to remove, energy willing. [...]

Owls

A family of Great Horned Owls nest near our property. In years past, their deep whoing call resonated through the forest after dark. This season, for the first time, the owls make regular appearances in the trees around my gardens. The winter was mild. Spring came early and lingers. Persistent rain drenched Oregon in May. [...]

Graduation

Spring is a time of rebirth, new growth, and graduations. Last week, my family traveled to California and celebrated my oldest son’s graduation from the University of California, Berkeley Law School. This marks another significant event in an odyssey we have all traveled since December of 2002, when he broke his neck in a vehicle [...]

Remission

What I’ve been reading: The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson Take perfect pacing, add quirky characters, a tablespoon of revenge, and a pinch of profanity, then feast on this top-notch police procedural. Afghanistan by Stephen Tanner All the king’s horses and all the king’s men cannot put Afghanistan together again. Its geography defies conquest and [...]